The disclosures herein relate generally to computer systems and more particularly to packaging protection for the shipment of component racks used for mounting servers for mainframe applications.
Component racks are used to store components of computer systems in a centralized location. The racks are tall metal cabinets with trays for supporting components, i.e., servers including, for example, a pod system, a monitor switch box, an uninterrupted power supply, etc. The racks are typically mounted on wheels and include an access door for providing access to the components. The racks are beneficial for cable management, for centralizing a stack of components and for cosmetic reasons. A computer room may include several such racks standing side-by-side. The cables communicate the components with work stations and personal computers such that the rack and its components are the hub of a local area network (LAN).
When the racks are shipped from a vendor, they are typically covered in plastic to protect from abrasion, packaged in close fitting corrugated sleeves, and mounted on a base. The base is stacked on a pallet and banding is used to secure the sleeve and base on the pallet. Several problems arise from this type of packaging. The bases are usually not attached to the pallet so they sometimes shift on the pallet. Nylon banding is sometimes used, but will stretch and permit such shifting. Metal banding can be used, but may damage the rack. Thus, present vendor packaging does not meet some suppliers' standards.
Removal of the corrugated sleeve presents problems. First, the sleeve is close fitting and when a cutting knife is used to slit the corrugated sleeve, it may scratch the rack. If it is decided to lift the sleeve off rather than slitting, the lifting must be done in an area with a high ceiling since the racks are about eight feet high. This requires a 16-foot ceiling to lift the sleeve up and remove it from the rack.
Another problem is that the rack bottom, including the wheels, is set into a square frame base which must be removed. This requires lifting or tilting the rack to remove the base and must be accomplished by two people. Furthermore, since the racks may be purchased by system suppliers for installing trays, cables, and the like and then re-shipped to the system user, the rack must be repackaged. Therefore, if the corrugated sleeve has been slit and thus destroyed, a new container must be provided. Even if the corrugated sleeve has not been destroyed, a two-person operation is required, especially since the trays and cables have added weight to the rack. Finally, the same problems incurred in the above-described re-shipping will be experienced in the event the rack has to be repackaged to be returned by the user.
Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus and method of packaging the racks on a stable base with an easily applied and removable packaging scheme which is durable, protective and can be managed by a single individual, if necessary. The packaging also needs to be removable without being destroyed so that, if necessary for re-shipping or return, the rack may be re-packaged in the original packaging material.